Universal Orlando 2.5 day visit touring plans - advice?

[brifraz]

So, my family is going to be visiting Universal this summer for two and a half days. It is my wife and my first visit to Universal in 15 years and our daughter has never been. She is 11 and a huge Harry Potter fan - and is finally tall enough to do all the attractions at Universal. We've been reading up and planning, but wanted to share and solicit some free advice from any and all here.

We are not staying on site and do not plan to purchase the express passes or Q-bot, but could possibly be convinced otherwise - our budget is limited, but it depends on value! We will be getting 3 day park-to-park passes via Undercover Tourist. Our visit is going to be late June/early July. We've done many Disney visits during this time frame, so we know what to expect from heat and exhaustion perspectives!

Day 1 (half day) - arrive 45 minutes before regular opening. Wait in line (hopefully at the front) with the rest of the masses. At opening - Islands of Adventure in this order - Hulk, Spidey, Dudley Do-Right, (maybe) Popeye, Jurassic Park, Poseidon - hopefully all before lunch?? Tour through Dr. Suess area and have lunch there before heading out.

Day 2 (full day) - arrive 45 min before opening. Straight to Hogwarts. HP and the Forbidden Journey, Dueling Dragons (or whatever it is now called), touring Hogsmeade and eating lunch at 3 Broomsticks. Then take Hogwart's Express to Diagon Alley, but head right into USF (assuming that Diagon will be pretty packed). Men In Black, Simpsons ride (and maybe a snack at Krusty's or drink at Moe's), ET , Terminator 2. Dinner? Check other USF lines and maybe do another attraction or two - or back to Diagon Alley for exploring??

Day 3 (full day) - arrive 45 min before opening. Straight to Diagon Alley for Gringott's and some Diagon Alley exploring (if we didn't do it the prior evening). Then back to the entry area for Minion Mayhem, Rip Ride Rockit, Shrek, Transformers, Mummy (still pending daughter's approval), Disaster, then...??

We don't have much interest in the rest of the attractions, so we don't need to add anything in - our main question is sequencing of things, how long things might take, and if there is logic to the plans.

Thanks in advance for thoughts and advice!

 

[danpam1024]

Day one is a stretch- summer is NUTS! I wouldn't count on getting all that done before lunch- especially in a stand by line . And you got to take Fl summer weather into account- it WILL rain and some attractions will close, leaving others CRAMMED! We have been spoiled by EP and don't venture to the parks w/o them

 

[fosse76]

Why only a half-day the first day? At any rate, you probably don't need to be there that early. Most of the crowds head straight to Harry Potter in the morning anyway, so you should easily get everything on your list finished by about 1pm if you are in the park by 9am. Just note that Popeye and Bluto doesn't open until 10am. Also, don't discount Cat in the Hat or Trolley in the Sky. Those are enjoyable, too.

For Day 2, don't limit yourself at the Studios. I think you'll find you'll be able to get to experience a lot more attractions than you are planning. And don't discount the shows. I really enjoy the Horror Make-Up show, and Beetlejuice is fun. If you plan on doing the Wand experience, visit the Diagon Alley location. It has significantly shorter waits (if any) than the Hogsmeade location (I think they should close this one and expand the shop).

 

[brifraz]

Day one is a stretch- summer is NUTS! I wouldn't count on getting all that done before lunch- especially in a stand by line . And you got to take Fl summer weather into account- it WILL rain and some attractions will close, leaving others CRAMMED! We have been spoiled by EP and don't venture to the parks w/o them

Why only a half-day the first day? At any rate, you probably don't need to be there that early. Most of the crowds head straight to Harry Potter in the morning anyway, so you should easily get everything on your list finished by about 1pm if you are in the park by 9am. Just note that Popeye and Bluto doesn't open until 10am. Also, don't discount Cat in the Hat or Trolley in the Sky. Those are enjoyable, too.

For Day 2, don't limit yourself at the Studios. I think you'll find you'll be able to get to experience a lot more attractions than you are planning. And don't discount the shows. I really enjoy the Horror Make-Up show, and Beetlejuice is fun. If you plan on doing the Wand experience, visit the Diagon Alley location. It has significantly shorter waits (if any) than the Hogsmeade location (I think they should close this one and expand the shop).

Thanks for the responses. Having done many summers in FL, rain and storms don't slow us down - and are the reason that our touring is mainly indoors in the afternoon (and even late morning).

Our first day arrival will be coming on the heels of 900 miles of driving from northern Maryland. We are taking our time doing the drive over almost 24 hours with quite a few breaks (even a couple hour break for a short hike in western North Carolina) and scenic driving. But we will still be a little exhausted and know that our first day after driving usually is full speed from 7am until about noon, then slows down significantly. Just hoping to hit all the adventures on the islands (except Potter) in that half a day.

Not sure about Horror Make-Up Show or Beetlejuice. Our daughter is totally uninterested in both and my wife and I did Beetlejuice on that last visit 15 years ago and it left no impression (as opposed to Terminator, which we do remember and will do despite our daughter's lack of interest!!).

We definitely won't limit ourselves on any day - if we have time and energy we will do more. But we'd rather go in with lower expectations of what we can accomplish and hope to surpass that!!

 

[danpam1024]

Thanks for the responses. Having done many summers in FL, rain and storms don't slow us down - and are the reason that our touring is mainly indoors in the afternoon (and even late morning).

Our first day arrival will be coming on the heels of 900 miles of driving from northern Maryland. We are taking our time doing the drive over almost 24 hours with quite a few breaks (even a couple hour break for a short hike in western North Carolina) and scenic driving. But we will still be a little exhausted and know that our first day after driving usually is full speed from 7am until about noon, then slows down significantly. Just hoping to hit all the adventures on the islands (except Potter) in that half a day.

Not sure about Horror Make-Up Show or Beetlejuice. Our daughter is totally uninterested in both and my wife and I did Beetlejuice on that last visit 15 years ago and it left no impression (as opposed to Terminator, which we do remember and will do despite our daughter's lack of interest!!).

We definitely won't limit ourselves on any day - if we have time and energy we will do more. But we'd rather go in with lower expectations of what we can accomplish and hope to surpass that!!

that makes me tired lol!

 

[brifraz]

that makes me tired lol!

We tend to really enjoy the drive. Usually we do I95 the whole way from Baltimore to Daytona. It's a pretty boring drive and usually our breaks are just that, breaks - nothing more. This time, we are traveling on a more westerly track through western VA and NC to stop off in Asheville/Mills River for a little hiking and a visit to the new Sierra Nevada Brewery. Then, eventually heading back east to I95 in South Carolina. We are very excited about this drive - new things to see and do!

 

[DisneyDaver]

Things may have changed since I was at Uni this past November, but when I was there, the wait for Escape from Gringotts was about 15-30 mins on Thursday, much longer on Friday and even longer on Saturday. So, if you can avoid Escape from Gringotts on a weekend, I think you will save some time.

Also, note that you will get soaked on Popeye ... you may know this since that hasn't changed since you were there 15 years ago. For that reason, I always make Popeye the last ride before returning to the hotel.

 

[brifraz]

Things may have changed since I was at Uni this past November, but when I was there, the wait for Escape from Gringotts was about 15-30 mins on Thursday, much longer on Friday and even longer on Saturday. So, if you can avoid Escape from Gringotts on a weekend, I think you will save some time.

Also, note that you will get soaked on Popeye ... you may know this since that hasn't changed since you were there 15 years ago. For that reason, I always make Popeye the last ride before returning to the hotel.

I think our Gringotts ride will likely be on a Tuesday, so we are hoping the lines aren't too bad. Although mid-summer, lines are usually pretty rough all week. Hoping!

We are a little wary of doing Popeye on that arrival day. The main reason for the (maybe) in the plans was that we'll only do it if it is a crazy hot late June day and we can dry off somewhat quickly in the sun. Since each day we will be driving back to Old Key West, we'll have the car loaded up with some towels just in case!!